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When you post a purchase order in Business Central, the order normally deletes itself once you have posted both the shipment and the invoice for all quantities. But if you leave a backlog on the order, the system keeps it open even though you have already posted documents against it. You delete an open purchase order with a backlog by making the quantity to receive equal to the quantity invoiced on every line, which tells Business Central there is nothing left to handle. After deleting the order you should also clear the leftover quantities in your requisition worksheet when you run MRP planning.
Why a posted purchase order stays open
When you post a purchase order, Business Central deletes it automatically once you have posted the remaining quantities. That means both shipment and invoicing of the full purchase order have been handled, and there is nothing left for the system to keep track of.
The situation changes when you have a backlog on the order. In that case the order is not deleted. You still have the posted documents, but the purchase order itself remains open. This is a common scenario when a delivery is never fully received or invoiced.
How to delete an open purchase order with a backlog
To delete an open purchase order that still has a backlog, you need to make sure that the quantity to receive and the quantity invoiced match in the two columns. When those values are the same on the lines, Business Central allows you to delete the order.
A typical example looks like this: you have received the goods but invoiced nothing yet, and you decide you will not receive the last two items. This is the kind of situation the finance department often deals with, because the vendor has of course already sent the invoice.
Once you adjust the lines so that the quantity to receive and the quantity invoiced are equal, the order becomes possible to delete. You then simply find the purchase order and delete it.
Remember to clean up your MRP planning
Deleting the order is not the last step. After you delete the purchase order, you should also remove the leftover quantities when you run your MRP planning in the requisition worksheet. Otherwise the planning will still account for items that no longer have an active order behind them.
Q&A
Why does my purchase order stay open after I have posted it?
If there is a backlog on the order, Business Central does not delete it automatically. You still have the posted documents, but the purchase order itself remains open until the quantity to receive and the quantity invoiced match on all lines.
How do I delete an open purchase order that has a backlog?
Make the quantity to receive equal to the quantity invoiced on every line. When those two columns match, Business Central allows you to find the purchase order and delete it.
What do I do after deleting the purchase order?
Remove the leftover quantities in the requisition worksheet when you run your MRP planning, so the planning no longer accounts for items that have no active order.